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The Correspondent

September 16, 2025

correspondent

When Sybil Van Antwerp came of age there was no such thing as digital. Given that, she sees no reason to abandon her lifelong habit of communicating via letter. She’ll even use email when it is the only option, but that is as much as she’ll concede. This means Virginia Evans’ debut The Correspondent is an epistolary novel comprised only of Sybil‘s communications with the ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, literary, women

Penitence: A Novel

February 3, 2025

penitence

When Penitence begins 13-year-old Nora is alone in a jail cell after turning herself in for killing her 14-year-old brother. An opening like this has the heft to carry a traditional thriller/mystery whether as a police procedural (solving the crime) or a courtroom drama (Nora on trial). Instead, debut author Kristin Koval forges a completely different path in what becomes a ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, debut, family, literary, mystery

Those Fatal Flowers

January 22, 2025

fatal flowers

While my fascination surrounding the legend of Troy has waned (I can only watch Eric Bana and Brad Pitt in the movie so many times) my curiosity about mythology has not. Those Fatal Flowers is a genre-bending tale of a handmaiden to a goddess who is cursed for her carelessness, but has the opportunity to save herself and her sisters if she can complete a heroic quest. Quests ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 16th century, debut, mythology

Snake Oil: A Novel

December 13, 2024

snake oil

Three women, one company. Set in the wellness industry Snake Oil is about the woman who starts the company and two of the women who work for her. At opposite ends of the spectrum, one is a fervent believer in the company’s mission while the other avidly opposes it, but needs the paycheck. When the novel opens a clinical trial for a new supplement is wrapping up. It’s release ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, contemporary life, debut, mystery, women

I Hope This Finds You Well

October 30, 2024

this finds you well

Apparently, the reading gods have taken pity on me this fall because I’m on a roll with FUN, entertaining, reading. Case in point: I Hope This Finds You Well, a debut from Canadian author Natalie Sue. This novel’s main ingredient is humor, but she blends it into something with more depth as one introverted office worker has to attend HR training to improve her attitude or lose ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: contemporary life, debut, humor, vacation reading

Swift River: A Novel

September 19, 2024

swift river

Swift River is both the title of Essie Chambers’ debut and the town where the novel is set. It’s about Diamond Newberry, a 16-year-old girl who stands out, but not for her flashy name or sparkling personality. She’s morbidly obese and ever since her father disappeared 7 years ago she’s the only Black person in town. Her white mother is of little help. She doesn’t drive and ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, coming-of-age, debut, New England

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